ICC's 'undercover agents' to pose as bookies to snare errant players

SYDNEY: The International Cricket Council is reportedly considering a radical plan of creating a team of undercover agents, who will pose as illegal bookmakers.

These agents will approach cricketers to see if they report the encounters.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, players who do not report the approaches would be penalised under the anti-corruption code, with sanctions ranging from warnings to fines and suspensions.

The plan is only in its embryonic stage and is one of many new initiatives being considered by the ICC in light of the Pakistan spot-fixing allegations.

The idea was put to ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat and is now being considered.

''We are thinking of setting up our own approaches to players, to see if they report it, we will think out of the box,'' Lorgat told the Herald.

He added: ''It is only a tentative plan at this stage, we are working on a number of measures to combat corruption. We are not sitting on our hands ... we are being as proactive as we can in ensuring the integrity of the game is maintained.''